The Ombudsman's reaction in connection with the discovery of another mass grave in Khojaly city

Mass graves that are consistently found in liberated areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan reveal traces of war crimes and crimes against humanity that Armenia committed against Azerbaijanis during the First Karabakh War.

The discovery of another mass grave on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Khojaly Genocide in the territory of Khojaly city once again openly proved the inhumane acts that Armenia denies.

On February 21 of this year, during the excavations in Khojaly city, another mass grave was discovered. The ongoing excavations on the site have revealed that the initially identified human remains mainly belong to women and children, with evidence of their hands being tied and killed by being subjected to tortures. These facts further substantiate Armenia's policy of hatred and genocide against Azerbaijanis, along with the crimes committed during the war and against humanity. A terrifying reality is that one of the remains found there may have belonged to a child between the ages of four and five.

I would like to reiterate once more that the fate of nearly 4,000 Azerbaijanis, including 150 people taken hostage or missing as a result of the Khojaly Genocide during the First Karabakh War, is still unknown to date. Unfortunately, over these years, the Armenian side has refrained from providing information about the missing persons, including the locations of mass graves, to our country. However, clarity has only been brought to the fate of several missing persons through measures taken by the relevant state institutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the direction of identification of the human remains found in mass graves in the liberated territories.

Considering the aforementioned, I call on all international organizations working in the field of human rights not to remain indifferent to such facts and to take the necessary actions to bring individuals responsible for crimes committed against Azerbaijanis on the basis of ethnic hatred by Armenia to justice.

Sabina Aliyeva 

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan 

(Ombudsman)

23 February 2024